Newsletter July 2014 - Global Bhatia Foundation

July 2014
@
nd
22
Issue
An initiative by Youth Wing of Global Bhatia Foundation
For Private Circulation Only
4,000 Year Old Vishnu Statue Discovered in Vietnam
A recent news report from Vietnam features an exquisite and very ancient sculpture of
Lord Vishnu. According to a press release from the Communist Party of Vietnam's
Central Committee (CPVCC) the Vishnu sculpture is described as “Vishnu stone head
from Oc Eo culture, dated back 4,000-3,500 years.” Recently the Government of
Vietnam, despite its official Communist doctrine, has developed many programs and
projects highlighting Vietnam's ancient religious heritage. Its scholarly and
archeological research and investigations are legitimate and its conclusions are
authoritative. This discovery of a 4,000 to 3,500 year old Vishnu sculpture is truly
historic and it sheds new light upon our understanding of the history of not only
Hinduism but of the entire world.
The fact is there are no other 'officially' recognized Vedic artifacts that have been dated
back to such an early date. This would make Vietnam home to the world's most ancient
Vedic artifact. While there are indeed many other ancient artifacts that represent the
same Deity, they are not presented in the 'Indic' tradition and cannot be directly
recognized as the Vishnu of the Indic Vaishnava tradition.
The 4000-3500 year old Vietnamese Vishnu sculpture is part of an exhibit featuring
some of Vietnam's most ancient artifacts. It was discovered in the region of Southern
Vietnam's Mekong Delta. The Mekong (Ma Ganga) River is named after the Ganges
River of India. The entire region was once the home to several ancient and prosperous
Vedic Kingdoms and many intriguing and unique Vedic artifacts have been discovered.
The Vishnu sculpture was officially presented during the 5th Quang Nam Heritage
Festival which opened on June 21, 2013 in Hoi An City. The exhibition highlights many
ancient objects dated from the Dong Son – Sa Huynh – Oc Eo eras of Vietnam's ancient
history.
“Entitled “Dong Son – Sa Huynh – Oc Eo cultures”, the exhibition put on display over
1,000 ancient objects which come from across the country and are made from diverse
materials, from pottery to copper, including jewelry and farming tools, from the preancient period belonging to the three cultures.
The significance of this discovery cannot be overestimated. The entire history of
Hinduism and Vedic culture, as taught is the academic institutions of the world, has
been built upon a false construct. According to mainstream academia Vedic 'religion' or
Hinduism did not exist until the alleged 'Aryans' invaded India circa 1500 BC. An even
later date is given to Vaishnavism which is speculated to have been derived from
animist Sun worship. Yet here we have a highly evolved art form depicting Lord Vishnu
in the Far South East region of Asia dated to somewhere between 2000 BC to 1500 BC.
This completely undermines the entire historic timeline developed by mainstream
academia in regards to the development of both Vedic/Hindu civilization and Indian
history.
The region of modern India has always been the epicenter of High Vedic/Hindu
Civilization and culture. No one anywhere has ever suggested the region of modern
Vietnam to be the origin of Hindu civilization yet it is in Vietnam that we now have the
world's most ancient example of Indic style Vedic Vaishnava art. Thus it stands to
reason that if Vedic Vaishnava art, culture and religion flourished 4000 years ago in
prehistoric Vietnam it was undoubtedly flourishing in ancient India as well.
Once again science and archeology have confirmed the Vedic conclusion. As the Vedic
Vishnu stone head from Oc Eo culture,
dated back 4,000-3,500 years.
Copper form of Vishnu from Oc Eo culture
continue on page 2....
Shri Harsh Mariwala & Smt Kalpana Morparia
were 2 panelists for the selection of
Top 33 Young Enterpreneurs by
Economic Times.
HISTORY OF BHATIA COMMUNITY-MUMBAI:VOLUME-1
has been added to the collection of books in the
Asian Division of Library of Congress in Washington, U. S. A.
Courtesy -Mr. Miten Merchant
Page 1
4,000 Year Old Vishnu Statue Discovered in Vietnam
....continue from page 1
literature states 5000 years ago India was home to a highly evolved
and advanced civilization. This civilization was centered on its
sacred traditions. The worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, Lord
Shiva, Lakshmi and Durga was widespread and in fact spanned the
entire globe.
These traditions presented themselves in diverse manners, as seen
in modern India, yet among this diversity was a commonality based
upon the authority of the Vedic scriptures and traditions. The
recognizably Indic forms of the Vedic traditions spanned the globe
from the Philippines to the Middle East and Siberia to Australia. Yet
the same Divinities were worshiped and the same traditions were
practiced throughout the world.
The many recent Vedic discoveries from Vietnam are providing a
new and sensational view into the authentic history of the world.
Not only this, it presents a challenge to Modern India and its
leadership. India is home to many startling and amazing artifacts
yet they sit ignored and crumbling. In many cases looters and
vandals have destroyed many priceless examples of India's ancient
heritage. India's leading academics and governing bodies are silent
and if they do speak of India's ancient Hindu heritage it is only to
cast doubts and disparage India's indigenous Vedic culture and
Hindu traditions.
Astounding and marvelous ruins and artifacts that would be the
pride of any other nation and people are, in general, ignored and
forgotten and left to crumble into oblivion. Often they are
threatened by the efforts of the various Governmental bodies in the
name of progress such as the National Highways Authority of
India's (NHAI) recent attempts to destroy a 1000 year old Shiva
temple in Tamil Nadu.
It is a great irony that the officially atheistic Communist
Government of Vietnam exhibits more pride in its ancient Hindu
heritage than the 'Secular' Democratic Government of India. The
entire South Asian and SE Asian region was once home to many
thriving Hindu Kingdoms and civilizations. The Encyclopedia
Britannica writes regarding the Indian influence upon these regions
“In the realm of politics, Indian influence accompanied the rise of
new political entities, which, since they do not readily fall under the
Western rubric of “states,” have been called mandalas. The
mandala was not so much a territorial unit as a fluid field of power
that emanated, in concentric circles, from a central court and
depended for its continued authority largely on the court's ability to
balance alliances and to influence the flow of trade and human
resources.”
Perhaps today, as India itself is reeling under the onslaught of
enforced 'secularism' and as Hinduism has been relegated to the
realm of just one of many religions, (rather than being recognized
as the heart and soul of India,) we are fortunate that the former
Hindu lands of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and
Kampuchea are leading the way towards the reclamation of our
ancient Vedic heritage.
Author's Name: Vrindavan Parker
Author's Website: http://www.vedicempire.com
Editorial
Dear Readers,
A successful launching of Parichay Milan Kendra at Mumbai and a Career Counseling event at Rajkot were 2 projects that we could
accomplish recently.Shri Harsh Mariwala, Smt.Kalpana Morparia have done a proud to our community by selecting top young
enterpreneurs.We all breathe fresh air with the installation of a new government at the centre and incresing the height of Narmada
dam has given a great hope to Gujarat and particularly Kutch.Our youngsters have done very well in their exams and we congratulate
all the achievers.
We invite your comments, suggestions and contribution for our Newsletter.
Editorial Team
We are proud of you
Jeet Ambarishbhai Udeshi - Gondal
Jeet has scored a Merit Rank (Level 6) in the 18th
International Abacus Mental Arithmatic Competion
at Malyasia on December 9, 2012. Jeet has put
Gondal on International map and Gondal is proud of
him. He was felicitated by 1. Gondal Nagarpalika
2. Rotary Club-Gondal
3. Dondal District Shikshan Sangh- Kotda Sangani
4. ICICI Prudential - Gondal
5. Shri Vallabh Shrimali Soni Yuvak Mandal-Gondal
6. Chataka Group-Gondal
7. Saurashtra Patel Shaishanik Sankul-Jasdan
8. Perfect classes-Gondal
9. Shraddha Vidyalaya-Gondal
10.Parth School-Gondal
Page 2
Inside this issue
Editorial Team
1. Bhatia Wedding - Zanzibar
2. Interesting
3. In A Lighter Mood
4. HRD Minister Smriti Irani
5. Top B- Schools
6. Hindu Prayer in US House
7. Eleven Things
8. Vaishnav Samaj Of Chicago
9. India Gladiator Story
10. Sikh Kitchen
12. Cricket Tournament
13. Metho Asaanjo Kutch,
14. Career Counselling
15. We Proud Of You
16. HSUÒ ~É{{ÉÖÅ
Editor
Haridas Raigaga
17. Nathmalji Ki Haveli
18. Childhood Pictures
Correspondent
Nisha Gandhi
Design & Layout
Dharmesh Gandhi
Bhatia Hindu wedding in Zanzibar
A week or fortnight before the wedding day, women are
invited to roll papadoms which will be used for the wedding
feasts. While these are being rolled women sing wedding
songs. We, as young girls, would roll them to a small size
called 'tikki' as the dough for papadoms is very hard and
difficult to stretch. Once the papadoms were rolled, it was
the duty of the young girls to go and dry them on an old
muslin sari spread out in the sun and change over each
papadom from time to time until it was totally dry. Dried
papadoms were stacked and stored in tins for use later.
Also besides one major 'sanji' event where women got
together to sing wedding songs, women of the family sat
together everyday to sing songs for a week or so before the
wedding. At sanjis gifts were given to women. In rich Bhatia
families, one woman per family was often given an item of
silverware, which was later replaced by steel utensils or
glassware. These items were called 'lahani'.
A large bindi was placed on a Bhatia bride's forehead a
fortnight before the wedding, indicating her status as a
bride. After this, she was not allowed to leave her home as a
safety measure to avoid any mishaps.
The day or two before the actual wedding, were the
ceremonies called Mandva Muhurat and Graha Shantit
performed at the homes of the bride and the groom.
Mandva Muhurat involved digging of ground to plant a
little piece of wood, called 'Manek Stambh' as a request to
Mother Earth to allow the family to build a wedding canopy
for the ceremony. Besides the bride or the groom, the most
recently married couple in the family usually performed the
ceremony and five men from the same family helped plant
the Manek Stambh into the ground, now replaced by a soil
filled pot. Graha Shanti was performed to pray to the nine
planets not to produce any negative influence on the couple.
This ceremony was performed by the parents or whoever is
going to give away the bride.
Most Indian wedding rituals involve various family
members to make it a true family wedding.
Bhatias had other rituals like adorning the bride with
jewellery, called 'Jubbo'. Women from the groom's family
would visit the bride's house and adorn her with jewellery
and saris etc. This was followed by a ritual, called 'poyn',
which I find puts a lot of pressure on the bride's family. This
is as bad as the dowry system in other Indian weddings.
This practice is being eradicated by many families today.
Here the two mothers-in-law sit opposite each other and the
groom's mother 'demands' money for each of her relations,
starting with grandparents, parents, groom's siblings, their
spouses, their children and paternal and maternal uncles
and aunts. I remember my mother sitting with a silver bowl
full of cash, which would be empty by the time the
ceremony was over. The amount given varied according to
the hierarchy of the relations. Saris for the two
grandmothers, mother, sisters and aunts of the groom and
shawls for his grandfathers and the father were also
- Bhadra Vadgama
presented to the groom's mother. The number of relations
who were gifted was quite big as families with 6 to 8 children
was norm in those days. The ceremony ended with a bit of
fun when the mothers smeared gulal on each other's cheek
and gave each other a hug.
Some of the songs sung in Kutchi at these ceremonies
taunting the opposite side were quite vulgar at times but
then Kutchis are earthy people!!
Then there was the ceremony of washing the groom's hair.
Women from the bride's family went to his house where
traditionally he was supposed to be clad only in a dhoti and
no shirt. It is believed that this was the time when his
physique could be viewed by all for any deformities. I don't
know if a marriage was terminated if he was found to be
deformed! His hair was washed by his mother-in-law,
watched by other women. He then went and got dried and
dressed in a new outfit and returned for more torments from
his mother-in-law. Then followed a ritual where he had to
stand and place his right hand with the back of his palm
touching his temple, with his thumb protruding in the front.
The bride's mother wound strings of 6 cotton threads tied to
the groom's big toe stretching them up to and round his
protruding thumb, going up and down [scrutinising his
body for deformities, I suppose!] 12 times until a garland of
108 threads was produced. Two ends were tied together; the
garland was doubled and placed round his mothe-in-law's
neck and she wore it until the giving away of the bride
ceremony 'kanyadan' was over.
In the evening a ritual we call 'Chhakki' took place. Among
Gujaratis, this is a ceremony performed only by Bhatias.
The tradition starts from the ancient custom practised by
Rajput Kshatriyas, as the Bhatias are descendants of the
same. In olden days a bride could be abducted by a lover,
who had been denied her hand, or a dacoit, or an ill wisher.
So in order to protect her, and it is considered a benevolent
gesture, the men from the community, wearing their
traditional Kutchi turban and clad in a white sherwani and
dhoti, would walk in front of the open car in which the bride
is sitting adorned in a white sari with appropriate jewellery.
Women walked behind the car, singing songs. When the
procession reached the groom's place, the bride
accompanied by her maid of honour, would walk to the
threshold of the home where she is greeted by her motherin-law with the ceremony called 'Ponkhnun'. While a priest
chants some mantras, various gadgets, like a rolling pin
[velan], a whisk [ravaiyo], a small iron rod [trakadi] and a
pot full of water are moved in a circular fashion round the
face of the bride by her mother-in-law. Small laddoos are
thrown in four directions to purify the environment. Two
clay bowls tied with cotton thread are placed on the floor,
and the bride walks in after crushing them with her right
foot. The gadgets are a reminder to the bride that married
life is not going to be easy; it will be whisked and churned
with problems. Water is the symbol of purification. In
response to the warning, the bride crushes the clay pots to
Page 3
Bhatia Hindu wedding in Zanzibar
symbolise the fact that the couple will always remain
together despite all hindrances. I think ts ceremony is done
when the bride leaves the groom's home.
Once the bide has entered the groom's home, the groom is
sitting next to his father who has a collection of coins in a
handkerchief placed on his lap. The bride garlands the
groom, a symbol of her acceptance to the marriage, and
then picks up only one coin from her father-in-law's lap.
This is to symbolise that she will not be greedy in her new
married life.
We also used to have what we called 'Vasi varghodo' early in
the morning of the wedding day. I do not know the
significance of it except that the bride and the groom were
made to sit next to each other and exchanged things covered
with a shawl over them. May be this was the first time they
were actually touching each other, as meeting between an
engaged couple before marriage was not permitted.
Bhatia weddings took place after the sunset. so the
procession. called Varghdo, where traditionally the groom
was supposed to be mounted on a horse, replaced often by a
car, started quite late in the evening. Zanzibar being a small
town, the procession went round the narrow streets, while
an African band led by Salimu, played Bollywood tunes, like
'Piya milan ko jana' and other popular ones of the day. The
same Pokhnun ceremony took place at the threshold of the
bride's home by her mother, but at the end she tried to pull
the groom's nose which meant 'I have warned you about the
difficulties in a married life but despite that you are
determined to marry my daughter so be it!'
Groom's young sister sat next to him with a small metal pot
which had some moong beans and a coin inside, covered on
top with a cloth. She rattled this near the groom's ear from
time to time. This tradition started from the days of child
marriages where a groom was so young that he would fall
asleep during the ceremony. The sister called 'lungori'
would keep him awake through this process.
Once again, unique to Bhatias, we had a 'Kuchchi chori' i.e.
the canopy did not have pots tied at four corners in advance
as they are now. The four pillars of the canopy represent Dharma [Religion], Artha [Wealth], Kama [Sex] and
Moksh [Niravana]. Some rituals take place here. Then the
couple are made to sit on a sofa and their torsos are covered
with a shawl. They play some 'games' behind the shawl [I
suppose by doing so they get the sexual pleasure of
touching each other]. The priest gets involved in getting 7
pots tied at each of the four corners of the canopy in
wooden frames. These were not decorative clay or brass pots
but ordinary earthen pots of descending sizes, with the
largest one at the bottom. In olden days when boys went to
ashrams to seek education, they had not started earning a
living when they got married so the pots were filled with
different types of grains to help the couple start a home with
food and 28 pots of various sizes as utensils.
As far as the wedding gifts were concerned, close family
gave jewellery to the bride, while other guests gave cash,
called 'vadhavo' which was supposed to help the family in
their wedding expenditure. Most of the couples lived in
extended families so the current practice of buying gifts for
their new home was not in place. Bhatias also had a pot
called 'chhakkad' covered with a red cloth with a slit in the
middle, through which each Bhatia family would put one
shilling and get their name registered by the person in
charge of the collection. This helped keep a record of the
families living in the town at the time. Even absent members
sent their contribution.
We did not have Shubha drashti i.e seeing the bride for the
first time, or the placing of sindur in the hair ceremony.
These are imported from Bengali traditions, neither did we
dance in front of the procession, a ritual copied from
Punjabi tradition and made popular through Bollywood
films. The bride dressed up in a white muslin sari, which
was actually a dhoti given to her by her mama, mother's
brother. She wore a red blouse. As was the tradition then, her
sari was pulled over her head to cover her face, so it did not
matter what she looked like under it. There was nothing like
the extravagantly expensive bridal outfits which girls wear
these days at their weddings. In fact the groom was dressed
more elaborately with a brocade safo [turban] with a
diamond brooch attached to it, and a choker necklace of
pearls with a diamond pendant. He wore a selo [a silk
brocade sari] like a shawl round his shoulders [a sari which
was to be given to his bride later] and held a dagger [like a
Rajput] and a lime to keep evil away.
When he got out of his car, his bride threw a handful of
flower petals over him from the window above. This was
possible in Zanzibar with its narrow streets. These days the
bride garlands the groom when he arrives.
Bhatia parents gave only a few outfits and limited amount of
jewellery to their daughters at weddings. Brides got lot more
from the in-laws as it was believed that the daughter-inlaw's wealth would stay within the family. Mangalsutra was
also not given during the wedding ceremony as a tradition,
though it was part of the jewellery for the bride.
The groom's sister tied a knot to the end of the bride's sari
with a cloth that went round the groom's shoulders as a
symbol of unity between the couple. The normal four
circles round the fire and seven vows are taken by the couple
after the bride's parents give her hand to the groom. These
vows are well explained by the priests at weddings
performed in Vedic style by Arya Samaj and Hare Krishna
priests, though not by most Hindu priests. In fact the whole
ceremony goes on while the guests happily chat away with
their friends without slightest attention to the ceremony.
With late evening weddings in Zanzibar, most of the guests
would leave after the varghodo arrived at the bride's home.
So only the closest family witnessed the actual wedding
ceremony which lasted in the early hours of the morning.
After the wedding is over, the bride is given a red sari to wear
by her mother-in-law, as a symbol of her changed status as a
married woman. Another tradition among Bhatias is to
Page 4
Bhatia Hindu wedding in Zanzibar
present her with a garchodo - a silk or cotton sari with tie and dye patterns within squares with gold bands and a brocade
border. This type of garchodo may be worn only by married women and at occasions where they perform any religious
ceremony. It is also worn at family weddings' Mandva Muhurat ceremonies.
Washing of the groom's feet by his in-laws when he is seated under the canopy is because he is supposed to be like an
incarnation of Vishnu and the bride as Lakshami during the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony all close relatives wash the
feet of the bride and the groom and put a coin in the thali. This money is given as a donation to feed cows.
The newly weds then bow to all their elders to get their blessings.
At the final departure, a coconut is placed under the tyre of the car in which the couple is seated. This is a practice which started
in the days when the couple travelled by a bullock cart. To test the safety of the wheel a coconut was placed under it.
Once the couple arrived at the groom's house, they played a game in which a gold ring was hidden in milky water and they both
had to search for it at the same time. Whoever found it first, would have an upper hand in the relationship. These were all fun
and social side of Hindu weddings.
Another ritual at this time was to untie the thread with a mindhol. Mindhol is a dry fruit, like a nut, through which a thread is
pierced and then tied round the wrists of the couple at their Mandva Muhurat ceremonies. Mindhol is supposed to secrete
juices that keep the skin free of infection. Haldi - turmeric paste is also applied on the bride and the groom at some point as it is
meant to glorify the skin.
Applying henna and garba raas evenings were not major parts of Bhatia weddings. Before we discovered the intricate henna
patterns, applied by our Bohra friends, most bride had their hands painted by applying one lump of henna paste all over their
palms.
Another custom common to Bhatias is the giving of 'Ladka laddoo' - a plate of sweets given to the family by their relatives,
apparently to help feed the large number of guests dropping in and out.
In A Lighter Mood
Interesting
1. CHURCH has 6 letters so does MOSQUE and TEMPLE.
2. BIBLE has 5 letters so does QURAN and GEETA.
3. LIFE has 4 letters so does DEAD.
4. HATE has 4 letters, so does LOVE.
5. ENEMIES has 7, so does FRIENDS.
6. LYING has 5, so does TRUTH.
7. HURT has 4, so does HEAL.
8. NEGATIVE has 8, so does POSITIVE.
9. FAILURE has 7, so does SUCCESS.
10. BELOW has 5, so does ABOVE.
11. CRY has 3 letters so does JOY.
12. ANGER has 5 so does HAPPY.
13. RIGHT has 5 so does WRONG.
14. RICH has 4 so does POOR.
15. FAIL has 4 so does PASS
16. KNOWLEDGE has 9 so does IGNORANCE.
Page 5
HRD Minister Smriti Irani wants ancient texts in education
The new BJP government has taken initial steps towards introducing the Hindu perspective in the education system. It
is learnt that human resources development minister Smriti Irani has asked HRD officials to develop educational
material that encapsulates the contribution of ancient Indians in different fields like science, mathematics, social
sciences, philosophy, grammar and language.
It is learnt that once evolved, this material could be introduced as chapters in the school curriculum. The ministry is
planning to set up a committee to study the ancient Hindu texts, Vedas, Upanishads and other epics to select relevant
material for teaching.
To deflect criticism, the Modi government is likely to hold wide consultations with academics and others before going
ahead with the move. Union HRD minister Smriti Irani brought this up during detailed interactions with senior
bureaucrats in the past two days. She also articulated her desire to preserve the ancient culture and heritage of the
country, sources said.
This is being viewed as an attempt by the government to push through the RSS' educational revamp agenda. The RSS
has been critical of the Congress governments for ignoring the contribution of Hindu culture and religion to nationbuilding. The rightist organisations have labelled current textbooks as Left-leaning.
http://www.hinduhumanrights.info/hrd-minister-smriti-irani-wants-ancient-texts-in-education/
Top B- schools like IIMs, ISB & XLRI to offer lessons from Narendra Modi's electoral success
Top B-schools in the country, including many IIMs,
Indian School of Business (ISB), XLRI and MDIGurgaon, will introduce lessons gleaned from
Narendra Modi's electoral success into their curriculum
for the new academic year. Case studies on BJP's
marketing techniques, use of technology and social
media, single point authority and media management
will now be taught in the nw batch of management
students (class of 2016) and to those in their second
year (2015).
"Indian politics make for great case studies," said
Siddharth Shekhar Singh, associate professor for
marketing at ISB. The Bschool will use Modi's
campaign to teach brand strategy, product positioning
and understanding target audiences in its New Product
Development and Marketing Management classes this
year. Last academic year, it used contrasts and
similarities between branding methods of Aam Aadmi
Party and BJP in the same.
The 2015 batch at XLRI will learn how Modi and his
team connected with voters using social media,
messages via mobile phone and holograms. The
seamless use of technology, style of addressing the
masses and how the party's slogans were drafted to
touch the right cords will be taught, said Sharad Sarin,
professor of Marketing and Strategic Management at
the Jamshedpur-based college.Till recently, IIM Raipur
used Barack Obama's rise to power as a case study to
explain core marketing, brand management and
integrated marketing concepts. But now the new prime
minster will be cited to show how 'brand glamour gets
established and strategies are used to evolve a
product, said Anagha Shukre, associate professor for
Marketing and Communication. Modi's management
style will also be taught in an elective like Leadership in
HR.
IIM Bangalore will teach how Modi managed multiple
stakeholders while bringing in accountability and
transparency and utilised technology at its executive
education program."Senior leadership in corporates
want to learn how to use technology and manage all
customers and bring in social inclusion," said S
Raghunath, professor of Corporate Strategy and Policy
at the B -school.
MDI, Gurgaon will use the Modi case study to show
how a leader can create a positive image strong
enough to rally supporters. Professor Ajay K Jain, in his
organisation design and change management classes,
plans to discuss how successors can garner support
by focusing on 'hope'. "If we compare India to a
company and Modi as a successor, one can explain
change management to the class," said Jain.
Page 6
Hindu Prayer To Open US House
Session On June 19, 2014
The US House of Representatives in Washington DC will open
with a Hindu prayer on June 19.
Nevada-based Hindu leader Rajan Zed has been invited to deliver
the prayer from the Rig Veda, world's oldest scripture, as well as
the Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita.
In a statement, Zed said he will start and end the prayer with “Om”,
the mystical syllable in Hinduism which is used to introduce and
conclude religious work.
He will recite from Brahadaranyakopanishad, saying: “Lead us
from the unreal to the Real; from darkness to light; from death to
immortality”. Reading from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge
US Congressmen and Congresswomen to “strive constantly to
serve the welfare of the world”.
Eleven Things They
Did Not Teach In School
- Bill Gates
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about
eleven things they did not and will not learn in school.
He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings
created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and
how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The
world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE
you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high
school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until
you earn both.
House Chaplain Reverend Patrick J. Conroy has invited Zed “to
open the United States House of Representatives with prayer as
our guest chaplain”.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a
boss.
Zed had also read the first Hindu invocation in the US Senate in
2007. He has also opened many US State Senates and
Assemblies, County Commissions, Boards and City Councils with
Hindu prayers.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your
Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They
called it opportunity.
He has been bestowed with the World Interfaith Leader Award for
his work for inter-faith harmony.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't
whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as
boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your
bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about
how cool you thought you were:
Vaishnav Samaj of Chicago
Midwest Vaishnav Samaj of Chicago
raised $1 Million in presence of Pujya
Shri Vrajrajkumarji Mahodayshri
So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your
parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own
room.
Under the presence of Pujya Shri
Vrajrajkumarji Mahodayshri, Midwest
Vaishnav Samaj had organised a
grand fund raising event for the
expansion of the Haveli in Chicago in
which more than 1 Million dollar raised
with the efforts of all committee
members and by Amrut Vani of Pujya
Jejeshri.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and
losers, but life HAS NOT . In some schools, they have
abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY
TIMES as you want to get the right answer.
*This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING
in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get
summers off and very few employers are interested in
helping you FIND YOURSELF. (Do that on your own time.)
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life, people
actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up
working for one.
If you can read this ...thank a Teacher !!!
Page 7
India Gladiator story
by Arun Bhatia
While researching some history, I stumbled on to a Dwarkadas of the 15th century. He lived 600 years before Bha (Dwarkadas of Keval Mahal
Marine Drive), was a rajput, a Shaikhawat chieftain in Rajasthan. His story is intriguing and may interest some Bha madus.
Now, Bha's aunt (fui) entrusted with naming the newborn, may not have known about this Dwarkadas. Most likely she named Bha Dwarkadas
based on the godly abode Dwarka. So this 600 year old Rajasthan fellow has nothing to do with our Bha (our paterfamilias) except that he was a
namesake.
Those hundreds of years ago, the Shekhawati chieftains of Amber (Jaipur) had faced invasion of Timur and had unfurled their own yellow
coloured flag. Raesal (grandfather of Dwarkadas) had accompanied Raja Man Singh of Amber against the heroic Rana Pratap of Mewar. Raesal
had a son Girdharji , whose eldest son Dwarkadas interested me.
When Girdharji died, Dwarkadas, being eldest son, became chieftain. His uncle the emperor, at that time, had caught a lion. In the manner of
Rajput intrigue of those days, the emperor sought to eliminate Dwarkadas and so announced what is known as a royal hunt. It was a dare and a
treachery, but Dwarkadas accepted the proposal.
Dwarkadas bathed and prayed, and to the surprise of the emperor and his court, he calmly entered the arena unarmed, with a bronze thali
containing puja items like grains of rice, curd, sandalwood chandan paste. He walked up to the lion and using the kumkum red powder, made a tilak
on its forehead, put a garland around the neck of the beast, and prostrated himself in the usual attitude of adoration (dandwat pranam) before the
lion.
To the amazement of the spectators, the lion came gently up, and with its tongue repeatedly licked his face, and permitted Dwarkadas to slowly
withdraw. That uncle, the baffled emperor, concluded that Dwarkadas 'wore a charmed life' and asked him to make a request, which would be
readily granted.
Dwarkadas thereupon scored another coup and said: “Your majesty, please never place another person in the same predicament from which I have
happily escaped.”
Dwarkadas was later slain by the greatest hero of the age in which he lived – the celebrated Khan Jahan Lodi.
How Dwarkadas was slain by Khan Jahan Lodi, who was actually his friend, makes another story in the history of the Rajputs.
We Bha madus are Rajputs, but have come a long way from eating meat, hunting, brandishing swords in endless battles and internecine warfare,
having opium, riding horses and elephants and indulging in endless intrigue.. Yes, we have come a long way.
Sikh Kitchen that feeds 100,000 daily
It's time all Communities initiate this model to serve its community,
and others to display its acceptance and considering people of all
faith to be one set of Humans and Bring peace, joy and happiness to
all. We are all humans ( spiritual beings) first and then Muslims,
Hindus, Christians or Sikhs. To emulate the Sikh model it may take the
other community a decade or two but can be done.
The Sikh are one of the most philanthropic & elite communities in
the world. In Kenya their Free Kitchen with 3 meals a day at Makindu
and a 10 day free stay to anyone in their beautiful Cottages should
teach other communities on serving all humans without any
prejudice.
Free kitchen in India run at the Sikhs' holiest shrine, Golden Temple
at Amritsar, produces 200,000 flat breads and 1.5 tons of lentil soup
daily.
Two hundred thousand Rotis - Chapattis (Indian flat bread), 1.5 tons
of Daal (lentil soup) and free food served to 100,000 people every
single day are what makes the free kitchen run at the Golden Temple
in the western Indian city of Amritsar stand apart.
By all measures, the kitchen (called Langar in Punjabi ) is one of the
largest free kitchens to be run anywhere in the world. The concept of
langar was initiated centuries ago by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh
religion. Sunday, November 17, 2013 was his 545th birth anniversary.
At the Langar, no one goes hungry - and everybody gets a hot meal
regardless of caste, creed and religion. All Sikh Gurudwaras (places of
worship) have Langar, but the one at Golden Temple - Sikhs' holiest
shrine - has little parallel.
“Anyone can eat for free here and on an average we serve food to
100,000 people. On weekends and special occasions double the
numbers of people visit the langar Hall. The langar never stops and on
an average 7,000 kg of wheat flour, 1,200 kg of rice, 1,300 kg of lentils,
500 kg of ghee (clarified butter) is used in preparing the meal every
day,” says Harpreet Singh, manager of this huge kitchen.
“The free kitchen uses firewood, LPG gas and electronic bread
makers for the cooking and we use around 100 LPG cylinders and
5,000 kilograms of firewood every day,” he adds.
The kitchen is run by 450 staff, helped by hundreds of other
volunteers. Sanjay Arora, 46, from New Delhi, comes to volunteer at
the langar two days every month. “This is KAR-SEVA (do-service) for
me. I feel happy after doing this service. It's is not just free food, here
you forget all the differences that separates humans from each
other,” he says.
Volunteers also wash the 300,000 plates, spoons and bowls used in
feeding the people. The food is vegetarian and the expenses are
managed through donations from all over the world. The yearly
budget of the langar runs into hundreds of millions. One has to see it
to believe.
Women play an important role in the preparation of meals.
Volunteers make stacks of Rotis that will be served at the free kitchen.
continue on page 9....
Page 8
continue from page 10
Sikh Kitchen that feeds 100,000 daily
The "langar" or free kitchen at Golden Temple in the Indian city of
Amritsar is perhaps the world's largest free eatery.The Langar or free
kitchen was started by the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak
Around one hundred thousand (100,000) people visit the langar
every day and the number increases on weekends and special days.
People from all over the world who have FAITH in “SIKHISM” aspire
to visit Golden temple at least once in their life time.
Everybody is welcome at the langar, no one is turned away.
It works on the principle of equality amongst people of the world
regardless of their religion, caste, colour, creed, age, gender or social
status.
People sit on the floor together as equals and eat the same simple
food at the eating hall of the Golden Temple langar.
Langar teaches the etiquette of sitting and eating in a community
situation.
People from any community and faith can serve as volunteers.
The lines of status, caste and class vanish at the langar. Everybody,
rich or poor, is treated as equals.
The meal served is hot but simple: comprising roti (flat Indian bread),
lentil soup and sweat rice.
The utensils are washed in three rounds to ensure that the plates are
perfectly clean to be again used.
Running the kitchen also means washing and cleaning thousands of
plates, bowls and spoons.
Some 450 staff and hundreds of volunteers help to run the kitchen.
Five thousand kilograms of fire wood is used every day for preparing
the meals at this langar, that runs 24/7/365.
A Sikh volunteer prepares the dal (lentil soup) that will be served for
the meals at the langar.
Around 200,000 Rotis are prepared every day at the langar which is
served to the people.
Wheat flour being put in a contraption that acts like a dough maker.
The dough will be used for making Rotis (Indian flat bread). Rotis
(Indian flatbread) are cooked over electric machine.
CRICKET TOURNAMENT AT MORBI
Shree Samasta Gujarat Bhatia Mahajan had organised
a limited overs cricket tournament for every team in
Gujarat on 10th & 11th May 2014 at Morbi, as a result of
which 9 teams participated in the tournament. They
were1. Samasta Bhatia Mitra Mandal-Gondal
2. Jamkandorana Bhatia Mahajan
3. Morbi Diwan Bhatia Yuvak Mandal
4. Bhatia Yuvak Mandal-Mandvi Kutch
5. Samasta Bhatia Yuvak Mandal-Jamnagar
6. Amreli Samasta Bhatia Yuvak Mandal
7. Rajkot Bhatia Yuvak Mandal
8. Anjar Bhatia Mahajan
9. Morbi Navgam Bhatia Mahajan
The winner team of the tournament was Anjar Bhatia
Mahajan and Adit Ashar of Anjar was declared as Best
Batsman and Man of the series. Best bowler was
Hardik Udeshi of Jamnagar.
The winner team received a Champion's Trophy and
the Runners up team received runners up cup.Each
player of the Champion team was rewarded with Gold
medal and players of the runners up team were
rewarded with silver medals
'ASHADHI BEEJ'
Metho Asaanjo Kutch,
Metha Asanja Madu,
Methi Asanji Galiyun,
Ne Mathi Asanji
'ASHADHI BIJ'
HAPPY KUTCHI NEW YEAR !
Khari Dharti
Kharo Pani ne
Mitha Madu e Aye
Panji Nishani
Aawai Ashadhi
BEEJ ane Anke Nave Vare Ji Gach
Gach Wadhai.
Gajjan gaje ne morla bolen
mathe chamke ti veej
Hallo panje kutchde me
Aavyee ASHADHI BEEJ.
Ann vadhe,
Dhan vadhe,
Shanti vadhe,
Het vadhe,
…Vadhe dayabhav,
Vadhe madienjo sahyog,
Heej asanji shubechaaa!!
KUTCHI NAYE VARE JI Aanke
Lakh Lakh vadhaiyu,
HAPPY ASHADHI BEEJ.
Page 9
Career Counselling Event at Rajkot
Career Counselling Event at Rajkot was organised on June 15 & 29 , 2014 after receiving 107 registrations. This was the
first ever such exercise in Rajkot. Samasta Gujarat Bhatia Mahajan, Rajkot Bhatia Yuvak Mandal, Kathiawad Bhatia
Vidyarthi Bhavan and Rajkot Bhatia Ladies Wing joined hands with Global Bhatia Foundation for this educational event.
We are proud of you
Chaitanya Ashar
scored 94.80% in S.S.C.
from New Era Highschool, Girgaon
Het Padachh
scored 92.80% in S.S.C.
from S. V. D.D. Highschool, Ghatkopar
Page 10
HSUÒ ~É{{ÉÖÅ
A wooden Bridge known as “Bhatia Bridge” on Hamirsar Lake-Bhuj
Gordhandas Khetsi General Hospital, Bhuj
Page 11
Nathmalji Ki Haveli - Jeisalmer
Intricately stone carved balcony of a
residential house on way to
Nathmal Ki Haveli
One of two elephant sculpture
at the main gate of
Nathmal Ki Haveli.
The facade of Nathmal Ki Haveli.
A part of the delicately carved facade
of Nathmal Ki Haveli.
Page 12
Childhood Pictures
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Narendra Damodardas Modi
Sunil Gavaskar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Amitabh Bachchan
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Rahul Dravid
M S Dhoni
Yuvraj Singh
Virat Kohli
An Appeal to Youth
Disclaimer
Global Bhatia Foundation invites Bhatia Youth from the Globe to
serve as volunteers. GBF youth has education, sports & cultural
events on its agenda and success of such projects is possible with
the service of selfless volunteers.
Contact : [email protected]
Views expressed by the authors need not be assumed as the
views of Global Bhatia Foundation.
All The Copyrights Are Acknowledged.
YOUTH@GBF is an in-house ENewsletter distributed freely to the members of Bhatia community and published from Mumbai by
Global Bhatia Foundation, a not for profit organization.
GLOBAL BHATIA FOUNDATION
1/6, Dossa Mansion, Next to Apna Bazar, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001 Tel: 9167826768 Email : [email protected]
Page 13
Website : www.globalbhatia.org